


Disarming the Rift

by The_Beauty_of_Intention



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, F/F, Suspense, Swan Queen - Freeform, Swan Queen - Slow Burn Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-27
Updated: 2014-06-04
Packaged: 2018-01-26 16:53:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1695563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Beauty_of_Intention/pseuds/The_Beauty_of_Intention
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Short: No one in Storybrooke is prepared for what shakes the ground beneath them.</p><p>The inhabitants of Storybrooke notice something is amiss in their little, coastal town. Strange things are happening down at the mines and some of the townspeople are acting anomalously. For one thing, Regina begins to forgive Emma.</p><p>Set in the not too distant future after Season 3.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_Branh branh branh branh branh_! The alarm blares on till Snow finally turns over and slams her hand down to silence her audial intruder. She misses her mark and her hand lazily fumbles with the machine until she manages to silence it. Snow's arm goes limp to the side of the bed as her eye-lids pull to half-mast. Eyelashes make the room seem darker than it really is, and it makes her want to sleep further. With a groan she rolls onto her back ready to fall asleep again until she realizes James is not there. She sits up abruptly in bed to reassess her situation, but then remembers that Charming had gotten up earlier to tend to the baby. She moves the sheets aside and plants her feet to the cool, wooden floor below. She doesn’t bother with her slippers and instead tip toes briskly to the door. She opens it with care; just enough to see out into the living room. There she sees her true love holding their little one against his chest as they both nod off on the couch. Drool glistens from both their mouths and Charming’s shirt is the victim. Snow attempts to stifle her giggle when in an instant a creaky door opens and she can hear, no feel, feet stomp through the living room floor. Charming snaps awake and Neal begins to sob. Snow shuts the door as quickly and silently as possible but it does close with a soft thud. Emma was awake. Emma was going to start the coffee pot and get ready for work. Snow stands next to the closed bedroom door with her jaw in hand and an arm wrapped around her waist. She looks down to the floor in contemplation, not paying attention to the exchange in voices in the other room until Neal begins to cry.

 _Rrringledinglelingdelring ring…_ a silver, antique alarm clock goes off in Regina’s room. She is not there to hear it but in the shower already preparing for the day ahead. The alarm will run itself out so it is none of her concern. The water traces her hair and trickles down her face. She opens her mouth just enough to blow off the drops of water that had been collecting on her bottom lip. She thinks of Henry and what she will make him for breakfast. The boy will be up in an hour, and she likes to have his meal at least started on its way to the table before he begins his salutations. Today, however, she realizes she does not have all the ingredients needed for his usual multi-grain, banana pancakes and almond milk. In fact she has no fruit at all. As she turns off the shower head it pleases her to think she will have to get some apples from her tree as a replacement, that is, until she remembers the look on Henry’s face the last time she served him something with apple in it. She had begun to suspect that Henry was getting tired of eating apples; either that or he was experiencing discomfort at the sight of them after the poison turnover incident. But still, how could any son of hers be tired of eating apples, not to mention her delicious reds? These were not just any apples, these were apples cultivated to perfection by the Queen herself! She chuckles at the intensity of her admiration for the seductive fruit, until the next thought curiously rests upon Emma. Maybe it was the fact that it was Emma’s genes that flowed through Henry’s palate or the incident with the turnover bringing this about, but with Emma Swan on her mind Regina’s brows could be seen furrowing in the mirror as she applies carmine lipstick to her pout.

Breakfast is in the pan sizzling and little pops are heard around the portly woman in teapot stance and eyeglasses on the brim of her nose. Granny looks over her lenses to see her next customer walk in. The bell on the door dings.

“Ruby!” she calls out. A loud reply can be heard from the pantry,

“What?”

“Belle’s here”

“Oh! That was quick. Tell her I’m coming!”

Granny shakes her head, mumbles to herself and flips the eggs and bacon she’s been tending onto a plate. She brings the plate over to the counter where Robin sits next to a happy, biscuit munching Roland. “Here you are. Eating healthy today I see?” She looks at the kid twisting the bar seat back and forth, “Would you like some more chocolate milk sweetie?” Crumbs fall out of Roland’s mouth as he nods and attempts to hum a ‘thank you’ but rather blows some more crumbs out of his mouth instead. “Thank you m’lady,” Robin interjects as he picks up his fork and winks at his son. Granny scoffs and turns back to the kitchen with a half-smile. She almost falls over when Ruby bumps past her. “Ruby!” she yells and clicks her tongue. She tries to chide the running and fumbling waitress but she knows Ruby pays no attention; she is rushing to meet Belle who has news for her.

“So what did you find out?” Ruby asks her friend excitedly, “Is it real? Does it work?”

Ruby is talking about a mysterious book the two found when dawdling around in the library, catching up with each other’s lives. From what Belle could decipher from the old script the book was supposed to be a way to connect between worlds, but she was skeptical with such things because there are many books in the library, many stories of fiction and lore, and also many fabrications. A book selling a faux idea of fantasy and magic comes a dime a dozen, though Belle could never fathom selling even a single book for that price. She shakes her head.

“Ruby, don’t get too excited yet! All I could find out was that this book is indeed very old and that upon further reading it seems legitimate. But then, there is this inscription in the middle of the book at the bottom of a page that found curious.”

She smiles cheekily as her friend’s eyes widen. Beauty pulls her satchel around to her front, and indicates to Red with an upwards nod that they should sit down. Eagerly Ruby calls out to Granny for two milkshakes and makes her way to a booth. Once they are both seated, Belle reaches within her pack and pulls out the book, the one they have been discussing. Ruby cannot handle her increasing excitement and gets out of her own seat across from Belle to scoot in beside her. Belle moves over to give her friend room, and watches as a wolfie grin and full moon eyes creep across Ruby’s face; which is obviously trained on the book she slides before her. Belle chuckles and bumps into Ruby’s shoulder out of fondness. “Hey,” Ruby retorts with a shove back. They both stare as Belle opens the decaying cover to reveal the inner contents. She reaches the middle of the book and points,

“There. This is what I was talking about. Does this look familiar to you?” Belle wonders if perhaps Ruby had come across something in the Enchanted Forest that she herself had not been aware of.

“No. I mean, those squiggly lines around it look like something I saw over some tavern doors, and the leaves remind me of something I once found on a locket, but I really don’t know what this image means or if it isn’t just coincidence that it looks familiar.”

Belle lets out a sigh, but then smiles remembering. She lifts a finger to her friend as if to say ‘oh but wait, there’s more’ and digs around in her bag to retrieve two more books.

“These are reference books I found on the Enchanted Forest, well if you can call them that. One of them is written like a fictional novel about magic, kind of like Harry Potter or something, anyway, the other one is written with what seems like an authority.” Belle begins explain further when Granny sets down the milkshakes with a dull clack.

“Now just what is it that you two are up to, hm?”

“Nothing Gran, just looking through some cool books Belle found at the library.”

“Well,” Granny glances over Ruby’s shoulder and allows her spectacles to slide downwards as she inspects the inside of the large book for any magazine pages, “I suppose I can’t think of a thing more dangerous, you’re going to have to watch your own tails girls,” she says with a smirk then turns around. Granny spots Robin motioning to her over at the bar. Just then the door swings open almost taking the bell off its roost. Regina runs right into her. “Oomph” she spits out and looks up at the scowling mayor.

“Watch it,” Regina says through her teeth before remembering her manners and new attitude. It’s taken quite a lot of effort for her to get along agreeably with the townspeople after the curse was broken. Granny knew Regina was trying to change into a better person but still remains skeptical. Regina tries again, “Excuse me Granny, I didn’t mean to bump into you like that, I suppose I am just in a hurry.” Granny lowers her gaze and does not look impressed as she reaches to push her glasses back up her nose. “Humph,” she grunts, but then says, “Let’s be glad there weren’t any plates in my hands.” Regina accepts the old woods woman’s response. Granny lifts her gaze to her own and mumbles out a, “Madam Mayor” before walking off towards the kitchen. In the absence of the old women’s body, Regina notices Ruby and Belle quickly shoveling away some books into a satchel before attacking their milkshakes as if they hadn’t moved from them at all.

_“Hm. Odd.”_

“Regina!” calls out Roland and Regina turns back to see the little boy squirming off his stool to greet her. She smiles and prepares to receive a hug while looking up to see Robin grinning and giving a wave in her direction. The moment Roland hits her waist she feels a vibration from the left pocket of her maverick. She ignores it for just the moment so that she can pick up her little admirer. Once he is happily secured around her neck, she reaches into her pocket with her free hand to pull out the phone; she has to make sure there is no town emergency after all. Robin begins to walk over to her as she looks to see who’s calling.

_“Emma.”_


	2. Chapter 2

Emma looks out over the mines from the edge of the forest. She shakes her head and exhales a sigh against a background of dwarves’ voices. The dwarves are huddled together discussing the situation that brought the Sheriff around. Sometimes Emma hears a few of them shout, no doubt Grumpy being one of them, but most of the time she cannot make out what they are saying. It is as if they have some sort of scandalous secret to keep. A look over at Happy frowning and Bashful wringing his hands makes Emma restlessly adjust her stance. She can hear the gravel crunching beneath her feet and wishes instead she heard the gravel under tires. She is waiting for the Mayor to appear. A Mercedes appears in another few minutes, rubber climbing across tiny rocks, and a sable, orderly figure makes her egress from the cockpit. The Mayor is here, ready to assess the situation.

“Sheriff,” Regina nods to Emma with the most professional tone.

“Regina thank you for coming. I hope I didn’t interrupt something personal.”

Regina looks up from the undressing of her gloves and gives Emma both eye-brows. “Well if you did, I am certainly not here to talk about it. Would you mind sharing with me why you have decided to bring me here?”

“Well it seems we have a problem,” Emma says looking towards the shifty dwarves.

“That, Sheriff, has already been presumed. Now I think you should get on with the details of this problem before you find yourself with another.”

Emma clears her throat and the dwarves turn their attentions toward the women. “Right, well it seems that we have a few donkeys on the loose.”

“Donkeys!” Regina exclaims with some annoyance, “Since when do we have donkeys in Storybrooke? Just what is this about?”

Emma’s face turns red as she begins to explain, but Grumpy interrupts. “It wasn’t Emma’s fault Madam Mayor.” Grumpy looks up at the women from a profile glance, indicating that he is feeling a little embarrassed and a little guarded.

“Emma?” Regina asks in another surprise.

“I… I… maybe, maybe I helped the dwarves acquire some donkeys, you know, to help them out a little in the mines. They couldn’t cross the border themselves you know?”

She shoots a dagger filled glare at Grumpy and notices the other dwarves acting distracted again. Regina looks more than annoyed now. She begins to open her mouth to speak when Grumpy interrupts again,

“Err, um, we asked the Sheriff if she could help us get the donkeys. We asked her because we needed the extra help. We’re having to break up a lot of rock now because the fairy dust is becoming harder to come by and Sneezy’s been out so frequently with colds so... plus we use to work with donkeys all the time in the Enchanted Forest; the boys kinda missed having them around.”

Emma lets off a faint smile and crinkles her brows in a plea for a little forgiveness. The Mayor rolls her eyes in response.

“Ms. Swan, do you think you could have at least discussed this with me before you decided to tramp across the line to retrieve these flea-infested mongrels?” She inhales shallowly. “I expect you to handle all of this on your own. I expect you to have those donkeys contained within the next twenty-four hours. Am I clear?”

Emma’s face releases her plea and the daggers turn to lasers towards Grumpy, who is not at all impressed at that point but maybe a little amused. “Yes, I understand.”

“Good, now if you’ll excuse me…” Regina turns to leave.

“Wait, we are not done here,” Emma sounds determined and forgetful of her previous embarrassment. Regina huffs and turns back, annoyed once again,

“What is it Sheriff?”

Just then Doc speaks up as the dwarves make their way toward Grumpy and Emma, “Something spooked those donkeys,” he says with a worried burst and unsure eyes, “Sleepy and I were packing them up for another haul out of the mines when they become uneasy. I tried to calm Jasper down while Sleepy reached for Spanky’s harness but they became too unruly and ran off. Rocks were flew out of their packs and everything, one of them knocked over Happy.” Happy pointed to his bum and made a grimacing face.

“You see Regina,” Emma starts, “Something happened in there to spook those donkeys and the dwarves are really nervous about what might have caused them to freak out like that.”

“We’ve never seen that before.” “Yeah, maybe the mine is haunted by something evil?” “Oh hush Dopey, you don’t know what you’re saying…” The group starts to get into an argument and Regina pinches the bridge of her nose.

Emma steps in, “Alright enough!”

The dwarves calm down quickly. “Mayor, we have more of a problem than just a few donkeys on holiday.”

“Alright...” Regina looks over at the Sheriff humored by her ability to command. She notices a strand of golden hair flick about her cheek and realizes the wind has picked up, “I want you to close down the mine until the donkeys are recovered.”

A few of the dwarves can be heard grumbling in response. The mayor holds up her hand,“Then I want a few of you men to take one of the donkeys down and find out what it might be responding to. Report back to me if you find anything.”

The wind now hits the thousands of leaves over their heads and Regina finds it rather soothing. Her face has lost all of its sternness as she returns her glance back to Emma. She feels her heart jump, as if startled by what she finds when she does. Emma’s face is crowned by soft waves of fluttering hair. Regina feels lost for a moment but then quickly regains herself, “Now if there is nothing further I believe you have a few animals to round up Ms. Swan, and I would do that quickly, it seems there is a storm approaching.”

“Yes ma’am.” Emma says feeling invigorated by the change in weather. She mischievously clicks her heels together in salute. Regina scrunches her upper lip at this and Emma immediately feels ashamed.

She speaks again, “I’ll do the best I can.”

_“Try not to be an ass, you idiot."_

Emma’s face lightens dramatically at the irony of the word “ass” but no one else seems to notice.

The Mayor nods and returns to her car.

* * *

 

Regina smiles, a secret unto herself, as she watches the blonde Sheriff attempt to corral one of the donkeys in the street below her window. The wind has brought with it a sprinkle of drops against her window pane. For a moment, as she dips down to take a sip out of her tea cup, she thinks to call the Sheriff out of the rain, but then, why bother the woman? Why disrupt something this amusing? She smiles again, a secret she shares with her cup.


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as the Mayor leaves the diner Belle and Ruby walk briskly to Mr. Gold’s. They giggle a little over their own mischief. “That was close,” Belle says smiling.

“Can you imagine what Regina would say if she knew what we were up to?” Ruby looks down at her friend.

“Well,” Belle hesitates. “No.”

They both break out in laughter.

* * *

The door opens and with the sound of Belle, Gold looks up from the counter.“Belle!” Gold chirps happily, “Good to see you my dear. I wasn’t expecting you to stop by till dinner.” He walks around the counter with his arms low but open. Belle gingerly skips over to Gold and stamps a pink kiss on her husband’s lips. “We’ve been married for almost two years Rumple, I believe I’m entitled to still behave like a newly- wed,” she beams and rises to her toes for a better kiss. “Ahem,” Ruby clears her throat so that Belle does not forget she is there, but then detects a small noise coming from the left corner of the shop. The she finds Dr. Hopper and Pongo looking distractingly invested in the nick-knacks peppering the room.

“Hi Ruby,” Mr. Gold says, “What brings you here?”

Ruby lets Belle answer for her because Pongo has just turned to see her. He stares at her mouth wide and with a wagging tail; she has to rush over to play with him.

“We just wanted to look around together, maybe read some books.”

“Oh? What books are these?” Belle is always bring books home.

“Just some old books we found at the library,” Belle shrugs nonchalantly.

Now Rumplestiltskin is truly interested, “Well now, you ladies have just planned a lovely afternoon. I'd hate to tamper with it but, would you mind watching the shop for a bit? I have a few things to do upstairs.”

“Of course,” comes the beauty’s reply.

“Great, I’ll…” Just then Ruby and Pongo rough house a little too much and knock over a lamp. Gold looks very displeased, “Hey, would you watch it Ruby?”

“Sorry, we didn’t mean to.”

For the first time since the women got there, Dr. Hopper speaks up, “Uh, we were just leaving Mr. Gold, hum, thank you for the browse.” Stiltskin is distracted with the Cricket so Belle crosses her arms at her friend. “What?” Ruby mouths.

“Any time Dr. Hopper,” His face is less than sincere, “Just be more careful next time, hm?”

Dr. Hopper nods, “Let’s go Pongo,” and they leave after the dog licks Ruby’s hand.

Mr. Gold turns, “Oh and Belle, keep an eye on your friend while I am away would you? I wouldn’t want to come down stairs to find all my antiques throttled into oblivion.”

“Of course,” Belle stares ahead at her friend as Gold leans down to kiss his wife on the forehead. “What?” she mouths again and shrugs one shoulder, presenting her palm.

“See you a little later,” He says as he walks through the back door.

With Gold gone Ruby comes out from behind old, golden things and maybe a cobweb or two, “So? Let’s see what we can find!” She beams.Belle is a little reluctant at first but a smile quickly breaks across her face, “Okay!” The two quickly take to rummaging around the shop for anything that might help them translate the mysterious words inscribed inside the mysterious book. Ruby picks up a magnifying class and sleuths over the pages for anything of interest, but there is nothing new to see. Belle finds a clear crystal stone, and glides it over the page of inscription but it does no good. Belle and Ruby search the antique shop for over an hour before Ruby breaks and exclaims,“At this rate, we’re never going to find anything to help us read that crap. Isn’t there like, a spell or something that would work better?” The book is more than likely to be enchanted after all.

Belle looks up from where she’s been shuffling and bites her worried bottom lip, “Red, I…”

“You know there’s a spell don’t you! Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“Because you know we shouldn’t be dabbling in that stuff, especially since the magic in this shop belongs to Rumple.”

“But Belle, you’re forgetting that we want to use magic. Didn’t you say that this book could be a link between Storybrooke and the Enchanted Forest?”

“Yes, I said ‘could’, I didn’t say it was for sure. It just looks like a book I once read about, I don’t know if it is. Besides Ruby, I’m starting to wonder whether or not this is such a good idea.”

“Oh come on, we both miss the Enchanted Forest, we both want to be able to see our home again, we both want to try and find our friends. What’s the worst thing that could happen just by looking at some pages that come alive with home? It’ll be like using a smart phone or something.”

“I don’t know.”

“Belle, it’s harmless. We can always shut the book if we see something we don’t like,” Ruby pokes at her friend.

“Well, I guess I read nothing to indicate this book as dangerous, and I am really eager to see if the castle library is still intact, maybe I’ll even get to look for my old village…” she trails off, “Alright, let’s do this.”

“Great! Where do we start?”

Belle walks over to a small cabinet and opens the lock with a key she pulled from under the register. “How’d you figure that was there?” Ruby points curiously to the key about where it came from. Belle shakes her head at Ruby’s knuckle-headed question, “One would think, after living many years prisoner to a castle, one would know the habits of one’s captor. I know all sorts of hidden places for Rumple’s hidden things, even the invisible,” she wiggles her eyebrows.

“Well then how come you couldn’t find us a translator?”

“Oh hush!”

The cabinet opens along with Ruby’s mouth. She had never seen a collection of potions like this before. Belle rifles through them reading the labels at a whisper, “Fright as Might, Langley Flower, Lover’s Quarrel, Simple Love Potion, Virili… oh!” Belle’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise at the mostly empty bottle. She blushes when she realizes Ruby can see the label too. Ruby begins to snicker but is interrupted by the sound of a cane thumping along footsteps at the top of the stairs. As the women scramble to put the shelf back together Mr. Gold is heard calling, “Ladies, I’ve brought you some tea.” Belle smooths and pulls at her shirt after remembering to stuff the book back into her satchel. Ruby tries her best to look nonchalant over the front counter, even though she is behind it. Stiltskin enters the room with a tea set on tray.

“Rumple! Thank you so much. I was beginning to wonder what kept you so long,” Belle steps up on her toes again to gift his cheek with a kiss.

“I thought, because we have all been her awhile busy with our own things, a refreshment might be in order,” he hands a cup to Belle, then one to Ruby before setting the tray down.Belle begins to drink her tea without hesitation and watches Rumple speak, “So what have you ladies been up to? Did you find anything interesting while I was away?”

Belle spits a little tea back into Chip.

Ruby sets her quivering saucer down, “Actually, I’d like to chat but have to get going. I have a shift in about thirty minutes.”

“And I promised I’d walk her over” the other woman blurts.

Rumple looks as surprised as he can muster, “Oh?”

“Yes,” Belle says sweetly walking around Rumple to side with her friend, “But I promise I will be back before you know it so that we may enjoy our dinner together,” her hand passes along Rumple’s back. His look dashes towards the pack. He wonders if he will be able to pull off his con before his wife leaves. To his relief, and probably the first time ever that is, the Charmings enter the shop in search of a pacifier. Now is his chance. At the distraction of his new guests Rumplestiltskin waves his fingers over Belle’s satchel. The girls say their 'hellos' then quickly grab the bag before extraditing their 'goodbyes'. They hustle, erratically offering promises to the royal couple and their son till they are out the door. It’s sprinkling outside now, so they up their pace to a run.

“Uh, goodbye Ruby, uh, bye Belle,” says Snow with a wistful voice.

She turns to Charming with a quizzical brow.

“Well that was weird.” He speaks for the both of them. 

* * *

"What kind of pacifier are you looking for Charmings? You know they’re going to be a limited item in this shop."

"Oh, any will do as long as it works,” huffs David.

Snow looks at him incredulously, “David!” but smiles then leans over to tickle Neal’s chin.

Rumple looks as though he remembers something, it’s unsettling how like his former self he moves, “I just might have the perfect one.” Without his cane he saunters over to a hidden shelf and pulls out a small wooden box. The Charmings follow. David bounces up and down for the little prince and plays with his pudgy little hands. Neal coos at his father’s attention. “Here you are dearies, I’ll offer no charge.”

As Rumple opens the box Snow’s face deteriorates into a frown upon realizing what pacifier this is. Emma’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the the Comment, kudos and Subscriptions! It's a warm welcome indeed. :)
> 
> Next time: Emma checks in with the Mayor and the Dwarves go to investigate the mine.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for reading! This being my first story of fiction ever written online, it means a lot to me that you're still here! 
> 
> Kudos and Comments are most appreciated as they give me a feel for how I am doing. Critiques are fine of course, but a girl likes a little flattery now and then too. ;)
> 
> I hope you Enjoy!

The Mayor’s not in. Entrance to her lair is forbidden without an official chaperone, but that doesn’t bother Emma, in fact, it entices her. Her boots sound hollow against the marble floor and Emma wonders if the acoustics were purposefully set to accentuate the sound of high heels. She moseys over to the middle of the room with her hands in her back pockets and takes a look around. The couch! That’s where she wants to be right now. Chasing after donkeys for twelve hours had been an exhausting task. Emma imagines it as being like trying to cuddle with a person's worst enemy, while playing rugby, in the rain. She retains her aloof movements and makes her way to the couch. There she pauses and looks down at each of the seat cushions and contemplates. Her mouth puckers and twists before she moves her hands from her pockets and lifts. “ _Nothing here. Nothing there. Nothing there_ ,” she finds nothing, but she really isn’t that surprised. With a hop she lands on couch and kicks up her heels to settle on the arm farthest from the door. It’s more comfortable than she remembers it and decides nestle in a little deeper. No doubt the Mayor is still on her lunch break. Maybe she can take a nap? Emma looks around the room again as if searching for something to entertain her. “ _Empty couch, empty desk, empty office, empty_ … soul?!” Emma startles at Regina’s sudden presence.

“Just what do you think you are doing here Ms. Swan!”

Emma winces, “I’m waiting for you?”

“That is no answer! What makes you think you can just come into my office at your leisure and make use of my space? And what makes you think I’d allow you to put your dirty boots on my couch? Off!” Regina points to the floor.

Emma sits up immediately and puts her elbows to her knees. Her hands dangle as she looks up at Regina. There stands a stern woman in a crisp, blue, pencil dress. The Sheriff can’t help but scan the curves on the way up to her eyes. She has always been appreciative of the other woman’s beauty, not to mention that hair. Sometimes she wonders how such a sensational head of hair like that could stay so perfectly in place with such a stormy woman underneath. She admires the sheen of if it without letting on, “I don’t know Regina, I was just coming to see you over the donkeys and you weren’t here. Your couch was, just, there.” Regina did not look impressed. She walked over to her desk mumbling and placed her bag down. She began to rustle some paper in order to feign her impatience and business.

Emma stood, “So?”

“So, what Sheriff? You finally cornered your donkeys and now you come seeking admiration for a job well done?” her voice is unwavering, “And what happened to that gods awful jacket of yours, hm?” Her whole hand points towards Emma.

“No, I just thought you should know! Isn’t that part of my job, appraising the Mayor of her town’s security status? And, if you must know, one of the donkeys bit me.”

Regina’s eyebrow flinches not expecting that. A micro expression of amusement transmits across her face. She thinks back to the image of Emma trying to unsuccessfully grab one of the escapees by the neck. The mayor decides to withhold her chuckle but allows her smile to concede. She turns her head to find her chair and sits down. “Yes, that is your job,” She relents. Emma stands before her breathing heavily and looking frustrated. Regina admires the Savior’s firm stance and pleasing proportions but then distracts herself. “Thank you madam Mayor. So should we get on to the business of what to do next about the mines?” Emma notices Regina’s features relax but doesn’t quite know what to make of her smile. Maybe it didn’t matter so much as to why it was there, having it there at all was something in itself. Emma had forgotten Regina’s beautiful smile and its intoxicating effects. It had been a year since Regina left behind her visible fury with Emma for having ruined her relationship with Robin; a very long year, where the two women avoided each other as much as possible. At first Emma tried to apologize, over and over again, but no matter how she tried her apologies took no effect. She still feels the guilt but for a while it had driven her to drinking into guilty misery. Really, only recently has she come to some peace within herself; Regina seems to tolerate her now. Without Henry Emma doesn’t feel like she could have made the recovery, and she knows Henry has been Regina’s saving grace as well.

“I will call the dwarves in a few minutes and have Grumpy investigate the mine. Perhaps you’d like to go with him?” Regina looks up with a satisfied glint in her eye. She knows that she sends the Sheriff to spend more time with the donkeys.

“I could do that I guess,” Emma wants to roll her eyes but chooses not to. All she really wants to do is take a nap. The tiredness in her body pulls her back to the couch but she knows better.

“Good. You know to call me if anything happens,” the mayor picks up a pen.

“Regina,” Emma says quietly.

“What is it Sheriff? I’m rather busy so make it quick.”

“I wanted to say; I just wanted to say that I know the last year or so has really been hard for you,” Regina immediately tenses up and becomes visually threatening. Her brows crash against each other low as if to dare Emma to speak another word, “but I hope things are getting better. I wanted to say, well that’s all I wanted to say I guess.” She searches for the woman who once had become a friend. She searches in those chocolate, tepid waters for a glimmer of the woman who had taught her magic and gave up everything for Henry’s happiness; and maybe for a little of Emma’s own.

Regina looks away and becomes stoic, “You have a job to do Sheriff. I think you should leave.”

“Okay. I’m going.”

Regina watches Emma leave out of the corner of her vision. She is angry, but not so angry that she doesn’t notice Emma’s nervous hands or the way she walks, away. 

* * *

 

“Alright let’s get this over with.”

The evening was heavy with humidity and it made Emma’s skin crawl. Insects could be heard chirping in the darkening forest behind her and every time they stopped it made the Sheriff look around. This was stupid. She’s faced dragons, trolls, evil witches, banshees and Hook, she shouldn't be feeling as creeped-out as she is but the feeling is there. She watches Grumpy and Doc adjust the harness on Spanky in the candle light. “ _Wait, what? Why are we using candles here?_ ” Emma wonders, but doesn’t bother to think further on it as she flicks on her own flashlight. When she does this the donkey looks back at her and winks causing Emma to do a double take before she realizes that she can only see one side of the animal’s long face.

“That’s should do it,” Grumpy says as he pulls a strap, “After you Princess.”

“ _Seriously?_ ”

Doc is visibly shaking and hardly moves forward. Although Grumpy won’t admit it he too is terrified. Shadows dance along the rocks as the donkey progress deeper and deeper in the mine. His head bounces rhythmically and he seems rather calm. Emma relaxes a little. “You think we should go back down to where we were last time?” Grumpy whispers. Doc looks at him wide-eyed. Water drips around the four of them and a few drops hit Emma’s sleeve bringing a few flash backs to the rainy day before.

“ _Ugh. Just what I need; don’t get any ideas you damn Spanky-horse-thing._ ” She looks at her hooved tour guide.

“I don’t know Grumpy, whatever you think is best.”

“Do we really have to Grumpy? I mean, it’s not like that part of the mine is any different from the rest of it.”

“Yes it is. All our stuff is down there. That’s where we were when it happened.”

Gradually they come upon items left behind from the miners: hats, used bottles, pieces of paper, a broken lunch box... Emma begins to wonder if the dwarves might have any relation to the three little pigs. Then the pick axes show, each with someone’s name burned onto the handles.

“Okay this is where we stop.”

“So this is where it happened?” Emma looks around.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s not like anything ‘happened’ exactly. I mean we didn’t hear or see nothin' but this is where we were when the horses got spooked.” Doc. is now standing up against his friend and shaking furiously. “Get a hold of yourself man,” Grumpy says before giving his friend a slight shove. Emma continues to search. She listens to hear anything out of the ordinary and looks between fissures and stones. The donkey does nothing, so she picks up an axe and hits the wall. The animal doesn’t even blink. After maybe fifteen minutes Emma has had enough. Jasper and Spanky could have been spooked by anything. It doesn’t mean there is something ominous in the mines. “Guys, I don’t think there’s anything down here. Maybe the donkeys were just being extra jumpy the other day? Come on, let’s get out of here.” Grumpy begins to protest but thinks better. He’d really like to get some shut eye, and besides Doc is really getting on his nerves. They begin to walk away when Spanky starts to yank his head back against his lead. He looks visibly distraught by something as his legs struggle to find a better hold. Again, Doc’s eyes widen.

“Did you hear that?” Doc says running back to his scruffy friend.

“What?”

“I didn’t hear anything.”

Emma and Grumpy stand still and listening despite the increasing difficulty with Spanky. Suddenly the axe picks and other metal items on the ground begin shaking.

“WHAT THE FU..“

Emma can’t even finish cussing before the axes shoot up past her ears and cling sharply against the wall. Clacking noises and pebbles could be heard coming from all directions. “Let’s get the hell out of here!” She screams not realizing the boys already had a head start.

“ _And_ _I am not going after that donkey this time_.”


	5. Chapter 5

Emma takes off running after the boys but doesn’t get very far before she notices things falling off the walls around her. She dodges a tin can and a few small stones but then gets hit to the ground by a softball sized rock, “Aaah!” The rock pummels her back and hits the floor with a thud. “Ow,” Emma struggles to lift herself off the floor when an axe lands right next to her face. Her eyes grow wide at the sudden realization of the danger she is in. With the strength in her arms and shoulders she gets to her feet and runs as hard as she can. Soon, an eery silence comes over the tunnel and Emma hears only sound being made are her own. She looks back over her shoulder to witness that everything had calmed down, “ _The mine is not collapsing_ ,” but still she runs. When the Sheriff reaches the mouth of the cave Grumpy comes in to focus. He is pacing and Doc is sitting on the ground with his head in his hands; Spanky, of course, is nowhere to be seen. “Emma!” Grumpy calls out in elation. Doc stands up and smiles when he sees the dirt covered blonde approach. She stops a few feet from the dwarves with her chest heaving and bends down to place her hands on her knees. Immediately a sharp pain shoots across her back making her stand up again.

“We thought we lost you in there! Are you okay?”

“Hey. Yeah, I’m okay,” she replies with full breath.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know Doc, your guess is as good as mine! But uh, after you two Olympians left me behind…” Grumpy suddenly looks like Bashful, “stuff started dropping from the ceiling.”

Emma gulps in a breath, she won’t mention the loose rock that hit her, “Then suddenly, everything just stopped.” Doc remembers to be scared and sits down again. _“Well at least there wasn’t a cave in,“_ Grumpy says to himself.

“What do we do now?”

“I’m not sure there is anything we can do right now except let the Mayor know.”

Doc looks up and the dwarves nod.

“But I think you might want to go after your donkey.”

The dwarves nod again but look distracted. Suddenly Emma’s phone rings. Everyone jumps. The song of the Undertaker plays and Doc hides his face again. “What? The ringtone was free!” She answers, “Regina?”

“No mom, it’s me.” It’s Henry and for a second Emma forgets her throbbing back.

“Hey kid! What’s up?”

“Mom, I need you to bring pizza.”

“What? Come on kid, I’m sure Regina will give you something to eat.”

“No, this is serious. Other mom is making that stew she always makes when she feels like you've been feeding me too much junk food but I haven’t had any this week, and it’s Friday!”

“Well, couldn’t you just tell her that?”

“No, she wouldn’t listen to me, but I did tell her you were bringing pizza…” His teenage voice trails off when he knows Emma isn’t going to like this.

“Kiiiiiiiid! You’re trying to get me in trouble with your mother aren’t you?”

Emma mouths “Sorry” to Grumpy and Doc who already look a little awkward for listening in on Emma’s personal conversation. They decide to amble about looking for their stuff.

“Besides, what if I couldn’t bring you pizza? What if I was working, or broke or something?”

“But you’re not right? Anyway mom, the pizza! It’s already ordered and baking at Tony’s."

Emma sighs and grunts.

"I love you mom, see you soon!” Henry hangs up.

“Grrr, kiiiiid!”

“Sorry guys, I have to go,” she calls back to the men. They stop and turn towards her. Grumpy looks a little left for wanting, “Okayyy…”

“Don’t worry so much about this okay? Just stay away from the mine until we figure out what’s going on, alright? I will talk to Regina.”

“Okay whatever sister, you’re the boss. Uh, just one thing though…” Grumpy says.

“Yeah?”

“How do you catch the donkeys?”

“Oh. Well, you don’t.”

She climbs into her bug and drives away, leaving the two scratching their heads.


	6. Chapter 6

“I’ll get it!” Henry says as he dodges towards the door. Regina rolls her eyes and walks out of the kitchen with a dish towel in her hands. She isn’t too keen on the idea of Emma stepping over her decision to feed Henry a decent meal, but the woman is his other mother and it makes Henry happy to have both of them in their lives. Regina supposes Emma is allowed to make some of the decisions, and besides it was Friday. She watches Henry open the door to reveal, frame in frame, none other than Emma Swan. Regina ducks back into the kitchen to put up the towel. “Emma!” Henry exclaims upon opening the door. He leans over to his mom and pecks her on the cheek before grabbing the pizza box, “Thank’s, you’re the greatest!” Henry tries to run upstairs with the pizza but Regina stops him. “Henry! I don’t think so.” Hey, he got away with one thing, why not try going for another? “Hello Regina,” Emma says carefully, “Sorry about this.” With the distraction Henry takes his chance and runs off to his room. He gambles his mothers will be too distracted with one another to bother with him further.

Regina hums in disapproving compliance, “Won’t you come in Ms. Swan?”

“Oh no, I don’t want to bother you.”

“I wouldn’t invite you in if I felt you were bothering me now would I?”

“No, I guess not.”

“Actually, upon anticipating your arrival I have made dinner. I didn’t want the food I purchased to go to waste.”

“Oh.”

“I take it you have not had your dinner?”

“No, how’d you guess?” Emma still looked a little disheveled from the mines. Her hair was tangled in places and dust could be seen on her jacket in patches.

“I’d say that I am really good at guessing, but I’m afraid I can’t ignore what a mess you look.”

“Oh, yeah that.” Emma brushes off her jacket some more and tries to comb through her hair with her fingers. She tries to play it cool by looking as if she is scratching her head but her fingers get caught in a nest.

“Aren’t you coming in?”

“Hm? Yes, thank you.”

Regina closes the door and looks over Emma. She wishes the woman would have changed before coming over. She was certain Emma had come directly from work, no doubt from the mines, but that doesn’t necessarily explain why Emma looks so unkempt; she wonders what happened down there. “Here, let me take your jacket.” Emma complies and wonders about her host’s agreeable attitude. Regina watches the Sheriff take off her jacket. Her face betrays her as she sees Emma’s white tank top unveiled; she isn’t looking at the dirt marks or discolorations but at the way Emma fills it out. The strong, tone arms cause a little flutter in her stomach. Emma turns to the Mayor and is surprised at what she captures on her face. “ _Is that? Is she? No, no, no, no_.” She shakes the thought away as Regina regains herself.

“What’s that on your arm?”

“This?” Emma points to a large bandage on her right arm, “A donkey bit me remember?”

“Well, did you get it looked at?”

“No, I’ve had worse, it’s fine.” Regina looks from the bandage into the other woman’s emerald eyes. She’ll let this go. She doesn’t want Emma to think she cares too much. She clears her throat. “Shall we?” Regina asks nodding towards the kitchen. She decides to leave the foyer first allowing Emma to follow.

“Mmm, it smells good in here,” Emma says as soon as she reaches the kitchen, “What did you make?”

“I made a Southern stew. It’s a recipe from an old book I found on Southern Cooking. I've had to change the ingredients a little to make it a healthier option of course, but it is rather sumptuous and filling.” Regina hands a bowl to Emma and ladles a satisfying serving. “I hope you don’t mind that it has fresh vegetables in it and not French fries.”

Emma squints a little at the chef in jest then mocks surprise, “You mean French fries are not fresh?”

“Why Sheriff you didn’t know? They don’t call them fresh fries.” Regina smirks a little and takes her own bowl to the table. Emma follows suit and sits down while Regina goes back to get wine glasses and a bottle of Merlot. She grimaces at the pain she feels as she settles in her chair and decides it best not to put her back against it. Regina notices everything.

“Actually, fries or not, this looks really good Regina.”

“Thank you Sherriff” Regina responds as she fills Emma’s glass before tending to her own. Emma is relieved at the sight of the wine. She needs to separate herself from the nervous tension she feels in her body. She watches her son’s mother place the bottle on the table and then sit down; her hands brush underneath her thighs to extend and soothe her dress. Emma thinks about how refined Regina is and thinks back to her time as Queen. For a moment she wishes she too were a little more polished and well-mannered but then decides it too boring for her. Still, there is no doubt in her mind that Regina is anything but boring. Her classiness and femininity are admirable but they do not limit the woman from her passions. Emma continues to watch Regina from her peripheral as the other woman pulls a spoon to her lips. She doesn’t want to, she can’t think about those lips.

The dark-haired woman dabs her mouth with a napkin then asks, “Tell me, you went down to the mine this evening yes? What did you find?”

“The mine? Yeah I went; it is what you wanted after all.” Emma doesn’t look up from her meal, “I went with Grumpy and Doc who of course decided to bring that damn donkey, Spanky with them.” Regina smiles. “I mean, who names their donkey Spanky? Am I right?” she tries to laugh and then realizes how nervous she sounds, what dwarf with a name like Sneezy or Dopey, wouldn’t name an animal Spanky? She needs more wine.

“We are talking about the Seven Dwarves Miss Swan, I don’t think an explanation is needed. Did anything happen?”

Emma is reluctant to say, but she mentions that the donkey did get spooked again, “Well, Spanky freaked out and ran off taking the boys right along with him. You should have seen the why they ran!”

“Go on.”

“I don’t know Regina, that’s about it,” She lies.

“Don’t think you can fool me Ms. Swan, I do have perfect vision after all. Tell me what happened.”

“ _Of course you would_ ”

“Okay, fine…..” she takes another gulp of Merlot, “We walked down together for maybe about a mile until it was obvious we were at the spot the guys were before. It was really uneventful. I looked all over for any clues that might have been left behind, but it really became pointless.” Emma looks at Regina’s hand as it turns a spoon in anticipation. “I was about ready to leave when the donkey started to get worked up. Those things are really skittish you know? One minute they’re fine, the next minute…” she’s stalling but Regina looks amused for a split second, “Anyway, the next thing we know everything on the ground starts shaking and then flies off the ground to hit the wall. I mean it was like Amityville Horror in there! Before coming to this place and seeing the things I’ve seen, I never believed in hauntings, but I could be convinced now.” Emma picks up her spoon and eats some stew. Regina isn’t satisfied and implores her to go on with an impatient look. Emma’s mouth is full now when she looks over to Regina. She is hoping the mayor is satisfied, but of course she’s not, so Emma rushes down the food. “Okay so the guys run off before I know it and shit falls down and hits me in the back. I was on the floor thinking the cave was about to collapse but it didn’t. Everything got real still, as if nothing had happened.” Regina’s face contorted and blushed a little as Emma recounted her encounter with the rock. She dips her spoon in her bowl, but opts for the wine instead. She doesn’t want to let on about the guilt she feels for sending the blonde into multiple, harmful situations. It surprises her a little that she wants to tend to the woman’s injuries like she would Henry’s, but she let’s the feeling pass in lieu of the Merlot.

“Well that’s quite an ordeal. We’re going to have to do something about this.”

“What do you think it is? Don’t tell me it’s the ghost of Christmas past in there.”

Regina knows there’s magic in play but she doesn’t want to suggest anything of the sort until she knows what kind. “I’m not sure Ms. Swan.”

“Emma. Can you just call me Emma? I’d prefer that to feeling like I’m being scolded all the time,” a bit of her usual self is showing through the calming buzz she begins to feel.

“Alright then; Emma.”

The sound of her name coming from the brunette makes her heart flip. It’s never done that before at the sound and she wonders why it would now. Just then Henry bounds in with the pizza box. “Thanks mom! That pizza was awesome!” He hugs Emma then walks over to Regina and kisses her on the cheek before running off back upstairs. Emma notices that smile on Regina’s face.

Regina shakes her head and says, “No doubt he gets that from you.”

“What, the eat and run?”

“No, I was referring to the gluttony and eating in his room.”

“Hey now, I can’t eat a whole pizza, and he’s a growing boy by the way,” she shrugs her shoulders and smiles as they both reach for more wine. Regina pours them another glass and takes the empty bowls to the sink. The look on Emma’s face had been endearing and she hoped a trip to the sink would help swat the butterflies away. Regina has always felt something between them even when she hated Emma with all her worth and when the two did magic together? Well, that too Regina didn’t want to think about; she was already feeling a little tipsy. Regina tries to tell herself that the two of them work well as friends, it’s something she had forgotten over the last year and a half. She needed a friend, but wasn’t sure she was ready to forgive “the Savior”.

“Should we take this into the other room Emma?”

“Uh, yeah, are you sure there isn’t something I can do to help clean up?”

“No, I think I can handle that just fine.”

“It’s just, you fed me and I feel a little bad for bringing over the pizza. I’d like to do something for you in return,” Emma blushes at her words. They sound awkward and misappropriated. A look at Regina says she hasn’t changed her mind. Emma grabs the bottle and then says, “Okay let’s get in there.”

Regina rolls her eyes and follows the woman to the living room.

“Oh! Wuthering Heights! I love this book, even though I always thought Heathcliff was an asshole.”

This peaks Regina’s interest, “I didn’t know you read the classics Ms. Sw… Emma.” Obviously she needed to put her glass down.

“I can read,” Emma beams back, “I just never knew what Catherine saw in him, and… I never knew you were such a romantic.”

She realizes her mistake the second Regina looks away, “Regina…”

“Save it savior. I don’t want to hear it. You can just keep your guilty conscience to yourself.” She grabs her wine and takes an impatient sip before looking over at Emma to see the sincere remorse written all over her. Why does she melt? She isn’t the wicked witch of the west! She isn’t weak like this. “But, _sigh_ , I would like to hear about what you thought of The Great Gatsby.” Confidence is restored to the woman in the white tank and jeans and she relaxes.

“Hated it.”

Regina can help but laugh, “And what did you hate about it?”

“Do we have to keep bringing up classic assholes?”

She chuckles again, “Well that depends on your interpretation… but no. What else do you read?”

Emma leans back feeling the wine wash over and her forgetting the injury. She flinches at the pain. Regina notices and lifts a few fingers in an automatic response but the long tressled lady across from her leans back anyway and smiles with a big goofy grin. “ _Lady?_ ” Regina thinks while looking over her guest but then she does remember how well Emma can clean up. She was a princess by birth regardless. The two continue to talk, drink and laugh together. Surprisingly, Regina finds the experience comforting. She usually never feels this way with anyone but Henry. Emma feels it too, the connection between them is obvious. In her drunken state she doesn’t shy from noticing those full lips, and shapely thighs. Regina was attractive. She couldn’t deny it. Regina was beautiful, classy and does she dare think it? Regina was sexy. She wonders if Regina used magic to keep up her figure being that she quite a few years, like, decades older. “ _She must do that,_ ” she thinks, because she finds the woman’s beauty nothing short of magical.

“Here.”

Regina gets up and leaves the room. Emma’s eyebrows raise as she sits up wondering what is happening. The Queen she’s been enjoying her time with has given into her urge; Regina comes back with rubbing alcohol and some new bandaging. She kneels down next to Emma and grabs her arm. Both women feel a rush of adrenaline and a tingling where their bodies meet. Emma’s eyebrows flit further and Regina looks up.

“Let me see this wound of yours,” she smiles and begins to lift Emma’s attempt of a bandage.

“No, no, that’s not necessary.”

“No, I insist. You never know, these things can get infected and I want to make sure you’ve cleaned it correctly.”

“This isn’t my first wound Regina.”

“Hm, no doubt this isn’t your first bite.” Both women blush.

“From a donkey it is,” Emma laughs. Regina smiles again and returns to inspect the wound. Sure enough there are six teeth marks reddening Emma's skin. The bites are somewhat deep so the mayor lifts up Emma’s arm to expose a tricep. She feels pleased in seeing that the wound doesn’t go beyond superficial on this side. She also can’t deny she feels pleased in feeling the muscles underneath the other woman’s skin roll. “Well it looks like you are lucky Ms. Swan. You only have a few bruises to complete the donkey’s bite.” The blonde almost protests the use of her formal address, but then stops herself thinking the words don’t actually bother her right now. _“When did I start feeling this way?_ ” Her breathing is shallow. Regina dabs the wound with alcohol and chuckles a little at Emma’s reaction, “Hold still you infant.” She places a fresh bandage on the smooth, ivory skin and finishes with a look of satisfaction. “There you are, I’m sure you will be fine now.” Emma almost didn’t want it to end. Why was Regina being so nice to her? The dark haired woman rose to her feet and sat down on the couch again, this time a little closer. She reached for her wine glass elegantly, and Emma rushed to her own. She must be drunk, yes, that is it. They both are.

“Regina…”

“I know Emma. I know, but it doesn’t make it feel any better.”

There is silence between them.

Just then Henry calls from the top of the stairs, “Moms, I think I’m going to bed, I’m tired.” It is indeed after midnight. Regina gets up and walks over to the bottom of the steps to wish her son goodnight, “Okay darling, Goodnight.”

“Uh, and mom, I think you should probably have Emma stay the night, since you’ve been drinking and all.”

Regina realizes this is true and a slight panic runs through her stomach and into her pelvis. She could call the Charmings, but then that would cause a stir with it being as late as it is.

“Goodnight Henry!” Emma calls from the living room. She feels too heavy to stand.

“I suppose you are right Henry. Don’t worry, Emma can stay in the guest bedroom. Now go to bed. Sweet dreams son.”

“Okay, goodnight mom. Goodnight Emma! Love you.” Henry leaves for his room.

“I should be going then,” Emma says as she scoots forward in her chair.

“You’re not going anywhere, not like this.”

“Not like what?”

“Drunk.”

“Oh yeah. Sorry Regina, I didn’t mean for this to happen. I guess I just got carried away with a good time.”

“ _Yes, it was nice wasn’t it_?” “I suppose you’ll need a change of clothes?”

“No thanks Regina, I’m just going to crash on the couch,” Emma says slurring and attempting to reach the other furniture.

“Don’t be absurd. We have a guest room and I expect you to use it. The last thing I need is to come down for breakfast to see you sprawled out on the floor with my couch cushions all around. And who’s to say you won’t drool on my furniture?”

Emma laughs. “Whatever you say lady.”

“Then it’s settled. Do you think you can manage yourself for a minute while I put some pajamas and fresh linens in your room?”

“Oh yeah, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good,” Regina says, and maybe she means it too.

Ten minutes go by before Regina is by the sleepy-eyed blonde again.

“Emma. Emma…” she tries to rouse her.

“Right, I forgot. Hi Regina.”

“It’s time we get you to bed.”

Emma stands with her arm around Regina’s neck and stops cold to look at the other woman as if questioning what she just heard. She stares until Regina looks back at her. She can feel her face flush hot when she realizes her mistake.

“Come on you souse. Let’s go.” Regina sighs and looks annoyed.

“Thanks Regina. Sorry.”

“Stop apologizing, just hurry up.”

“Well if you haven’t noticed I’m a little tipsy.”

“Oh I noticed, trust me.” Now it’s Regina’s turn to blush. The close proximity between them changes their words somehow.

“Okay, we’re at the steps now, hold on to the banister as we go up. I wouldn’t want you to fall and make a mess on the floor,” a devilish smirk crosses the Queen’s face.

The two of them wobble up the stairs. Regina carries the Sheriff to the guest bedroom door then lets her stand on her own. “Here we are. I’ve put the pajamas on your bed. The bathroom is just right there. Try not to disturb anything.”

Emma steps forward to hold the door frame and stumbles. Instinctively Regina grabs her by the waist for support and remembers Emma’s injury. “Goodnight Emma,” she purrs then moves her hand to the small of the blonde’s back. Her fingers skirt the ridges of Emma's cotton shirt before letting go. Emma feels her body tingling. Regina’s touch is sensual and almost, caring. “ _No, no Emma, you cannot allow yourself to think that. You don’t deserve to think that._ ”

“Goodnight Regina.”

Regina nods her head in profile and sashays away towards her bedroom to prepare for bed. Emma, on the other hand, stumbles around woozy but manages to change out of her clothes. She lifts up her tank top and turns her back to the mirror. There’s nothing there. The redness and bruising had disappeared. She turns back and steadies herself against the sink. Emma looks up at her own reflection and studies her eyes. “ _What’s happening?_ ”

In the next room Regina slips on her silk nightie and pulls back the covers of her bed. At first she lays on her back thinking, but as if upon her mouth’s own accord, a name floats off her lips and it frightens her. She rolls over to her side and stares across the sheets into the darkness. A knuckle is placed at her lips.

* * *

 

“Now what do we have here?” Mr. Gold gathers his fingers around the ancient book. As he opens it, he begins to recognize the script. The book is From the Enchanted Forest, no doubt created by a wizard’s apprentice or monk. He reaches the middle of the book, a page that has obviously been looked at more than the others, and stops. There is a spell there he does not understand, a script there he cannot read, and it appeals to him. “ _Interesting. I have just the thing for that._ ” Gold walks over to his cabinet and finds a potion known to reveal spells, the bottle the women were searching for earlier. For whatever reason, the bottle slips as soon as he grabs it and crashes onto the counter below. “Blast!” he seethes and attempts to clean it up. He accidentally cuts his finger on the broken glass when he hears the sound of the door opening.

“Just what do you think you’re up to Rumple?” It’s Belle, and it looks like she’s found out about his little scam. Gold grabs the book, and before he realizes what’s happened Belle seizes it back. “I don’t know what you’re doing but you have succeeded in making me mad. This isn’t your book and I did not give you permission to look at it. You can just eat dinner by yourself. I’m going back to the diner.” Mr. Gold looks astonished and cannot get out a word before his wife is gone. He looks down at his hands. His finger is bleeding. And then it hits him, “ _Gods what have I done?_ ”


	7. Chapter 7

8:07 _Emma, are you alright? You didn’t come home last night and David and I got worried._

11:02 _Yes, of course I’m fine._ _Can’t an adult get out once and awhile without being hounded by their parents?_

11:12 _We thought you would be home. Your apartment is still in repairs right?_

11:14 _Yeah. I wasn’t at the apartment. I got drunk and slept over at Henry and Regina’s_.

Emma didn’t get a text for the next thirty minutes.

11:44 _Anyway, I want you to be home for dinner tonight. Hook is back in town and I thought it would be nice if we could all catch up with him together as a family._

11:44 _Hook? When did he get back?_

11:49 _He and Smee decided to stop by Storybrooke on their way to the Enchanted Forest. Ariel and Eric are with them. They just got back from Neverland this morning and are unloading at the docks. You should go see him._

11:52 _I’ll see him when I’m ready._

12:10 _Emma?_

12:10 _Yeah?_

12:11 _I’m also hoping you and I can spend a little time together. Just you and me._

12:15 _Okay… uh, that sounds good._

Emma didn’t actually feel good about it. It was kind of nice not having to be around her parents now that they were tending to a toddler. Emma knew Snow cared about her, but she couldn’t help but feeling like Snow was too involved with her new child to worry about the old. She really didn’t know how to handle the Charmings in this way. She didn’t know what to do with the conflicting emotions she had around them. The moment she realized she couldn’t live without her family, was the moment her family’s focus had moved on.

12:20 _Remember dinner, see you then._

It was annoying how Snow had made plans for her. She grunted in frustration and let her phone fall to the bed. Emma pulled her pillow around her ears and groaned. She had a headache the size of a supernova. It felt like as she got older the hangovers were getting worse and she told herself this one would be the last. “Oh who am I kidding?” Emma rolled her eyes at herself and turned onto her side. It was time to get out of bed. She had been lying awake for the past hour trying to summon enough courage to get up. Waking up at Regina’s is an experience. It’s not that Emma had never slept over at other people’s houses, in fact she had done that most her life with being in foster homes, living on the streets, and sleeping at her boyfriends’, but this felt completely different. Never had she stayed in a mansion before, let alone one of her sworn enemy. “ _Ex-enemy_ ,” she corrects herself. This was Regina’s house, her employer, the town’s Mayor, the estranged co-parent to her son. Regina was an enigma, she was something Emma had never dealt with in all her life; not to mention she stunningly beautiful, the kind of beautiful that if Emma thought about it too much her insides would grow weak. Then there was last night. “ _What the hell had happened last night?_ ” Emma rolled over on her stomach to reach where the rock had hit her before. She felt no pain. Had Regina really healed her? She couldn’t have, she was angry Emma and could not forgive her for ruining her happiness. Maybe Emma had somehow healed herself with magic? She didn’t know any healing spells or how to train her energy on a wound. But then again Regina did help her up the stairs and let her stay overnight for having been obviously too drunk to drive home. Maybe Regina healing her wasn’t impossible; Emma sat up and looked down at her bandaged arm again. Her gaze drifted further downwards to see what she was wearing. It was a maroon, silk nightie, definitely not something she would normally wear. It felt light and cool against her heated, parched skin and the feeling was welcomed. She got up and walked to the bathroom to look in the mirror. The nightie didn’t look half bad; in fact it accentuated the blonde's tone features. She turned and posed in a few different positions before stopping to think about what Regina might have looked like in this very dress. A blush could be felt creeping up from Emma’s collar. “ _Too girly_ ,” she told herself and threw it off onto the bed.

“Good afternoon Ms. Swan,” Regina purred. She was putting together sandwiches in the kitchen. “It’s good you finally decided to get up. This town is in need of its Sheriff.” Regina puts the sandwiches in separate brown bags and hands one to Emma. “Take this sandwich then go home and clean yourself up. I would like you to be at work within the hour. None of those deputies of yours are there to take your shift today.”

“Well good afternoon to you too Mayor,” Emma said a little sarcastically. It was a Saturday, work was the last thing she wanted to do, and she felt like crap. Regina, on the other hand looked as put together as ever with her hair and make-up done. The red pencil dress she was wearing made all the right turns and those heels... She wasn’t even barefoot in her own home.

“Where’s Henry?” Emma asked.

“Henry has already left to see Killian.”

“Oh yeah, that.”

“Just work until dinner Ms. Swan. I’ll make sure one of the deputies takes over at seven.” Regina was being distant and short. It wasn’t really surprising, but it didn’t feel that great either.

“Regina, thanks for last night. I’m sorry I got so wasted. I hope I didn’t do anything embarrassing.”

An eyebrow shot up, “No, nothing embarrassing. Think nothing of it.” Regina was now leaning against the counter with her arms crossed looking at her employee. Emma certainly was in need of a shower and a good meal as far as she could tell. It was probably the worst state Regina had ever seen her in and yet the Swan was still attractive. “ _Never mind thinking that. Last night was last night, end of story._ ”

“I think you had better be on your way Sherriff. I will pick Henry up tonight around nine.”

“Thanks Regina,” Emma said with a sigh and ripples across her forehead; things were back to the way they were before. “I will see you later then. Nine o’clock.”

Regina nodded, “Nine. Good day Ms. Swan.”

She waited at the counter till she heard the front door close. Regina then walked over to a window with her arms still crossed, and watched the Sheriff get into her car. Immediately she had missed Emma's presence but that, she did not want to acknowledge. Instead she distanced further herself after thinking, “ _That cannot happen again_.”

* * *

08:10 _No, I am not coming home until you apologize_.

Belle had been receiving text messages since the moment she left Mr. Gold’s shop on Friday and hadn’t replied to a single one until this morning. She had just reached Ruby’s loft when Rumple started looking for her. He stopped by the diner but Ruby wouldn’t let him see her so he continued his pursuit through text. After her shift, Ruby went upstairs and talked to Belle about what had transpired. Belle was so upset over her husband’s trickery that they decided to put off exploring the book. The two chatted and drank till the wee hours and kept Granny awake with their giggling. Ruby would have to work again in the morning so the two planned to go over the mysterious book the next evening and fell asleep on the living room floor. In the meantime Belle could stay at the Lucas’, sleep in, relax, read a few books and go down stairs to visit whenever she felt like it. Belle even bussed a few tables for Granny when she got bored. Still, there was Rumple to deal with, and she really wasn’t ready to talk with him. She had made him promise before they got married that the games and negative magic were over. He wasn’t supposed to trick his own wife. He was to trust her completely and on this he had failed her. Belle didn’t quite know what to tell herself but she certainly wasn’t ready to listen.

* * *

Emma stopped at the door. She could hear Ariel, Snow, David, Henry and Hook laughing from inside the Charming’s apartment. She heard another voice she assumed was Eric’s as well; how nice it was that Ariel had been reunited with the love of her life. Emma’s hesitation came harder at the thought. Her feelings were laced with excitement but heavy It had been eleven months since Emma had last seen Killian.

Things had been rocky between the two from the beginning of their relationship and an absolute disaster at the end. It wasn’t just the lover’s quarrels that made everything difficult, for a start, they had to deal with Queen Elsa when everyone realized the stowaway was not as friendly as they would have hoped, but if Emma was to be honest with herself it was mainly because she had spent too much of their relationship drinking, trying to drown the guilt she had over ruining Regina’s own relationship. She still remembers vividly the time she told Killian she couldn’t handle being with him anymore. His eyes showed all the hurt he had felt over his lifetime and she hated herself for it. Hook had given up his beloved Jolly Roger for her; he had been so convinced she was the one. He would have done anything for her and all Emma could do was break his heart. There was obviously some kind of chemistry between them but Emma could never shake the deep seated feeling that he was not her true love. She knew she loved him and knew he brought her great happiness at times, but she couldn’t deny her feelings and she certainly could not help but feel guilty for finding some joy while Regina had none. He eventually left her. He left the place he was most welcome and most cared for and went back to the unforgiving life Neverland had to offer. Henry stayed made at his mother for months but always believed the Pirate would be back. And now, he was back, back on his way to the Enchanted Forest with Ariel and Eric. It was known that mermaids had the ability to travel between realms and Ariel was going to help the pirate to the Enchanted Forest. Killian had plans to assemble a new crew and collect more items for trade. He was always traveling these days in the new ship he dubbed the Jolly Number Two. Swan would see his face again, his pain, and that was the last thing she wanted except she missed him. He had been one of her best friends and part of her still loved him.

Emma sighs and pushes open the door.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work of fan-fiction. Feedback is appreciated.


End file.
